Royal Consorts Latitude 37

• William Lawes (1602 - 1645): Royall Consort Sett No. 2:
• 1 Lawes: Royall Consort Sett No. 2: 1. Paven 05:49
• 2 Lawes: Royall Consort Sett No. 2: 2. Aire (Alman 1) 01:42
• 3 Lawes: Royall Consort Sett No. 2: 3. Aire (Alman 2) 01:46
• 4 Lawes: Royall Consort Sett No. 2: 4. Aire (Galliard) 01:17
• 5 Lawes: Royall Consort Sett No. 2: 5. Corant 01:37
• 6 Lawes: Royall Consort Sett No. 2: 6. Saraband I & II 01:40
• Anonymous:
• 7 Anonymous: Divisions on "Woodycock" (Arr. Donald Nicolson, Julia Fredersdorff and Laura Vaughan) 05:03
• Christopher Simpson (1605 - 1669): The Little Consort - Suite No. 1:
• 8 Simpson: The Little Consort - Suite No. 1: 5. Alman 04:23
• 9 Simpson: The Little Consort - Suite No. 1: 7. Saraband 01:26
• Anonymous:
• 10 Anonymous: Greensleeves - Song and Divisions (Arr. Donald Nicolson, Julia Fredersdorff and Laura Vaughan) 02:43
• 11 Anonymous: Divisions on "Paul's Steeple" (Arr. Donald Nicolson, Julia Fredersdorff and Laura Vaughan) 01:00
• William Byrd (1543 - 1623): Pavan and Galliard - Sir William Petre:
• 12 Byrd: Pavan and Galliard - Sir William Petre: 1. Pavan 05:30
• 13 Byrd: Pavan and Galliard - Sir William Petre: 2. Galliard 02:54
• Henry Purcell (1659 - 1695):
• 14 Purcell: Fantasia in Three Parts, Z. 733 04:26
• 15 Purcell: The Fairy Queen, Z. 629: Let Me Weep ("The Plaint") 02:01
• David Mell (1604 - 1662):
• 16 Mell: Divisions on "John Come Kiss Me Now" 03:06
• Christopher Gibbons (1615 - 1676): Fantasia-Suite No. 2:
• 17 Gibbons: Fantasia-Suite No. 2: 1. Fancy 07:09
• 18 Gibbons: Fantasia-Suite No. 2: 2. Alman 03:53
• 19 Gibbons: Fantasia-Suite No. 2: 3. Galliard 03:45
• William Corkine (1610 - 1617):
• 20 Corkine: Walsingham 01:07
• John Jenkins (1592 - 1678): Fantasia-Suite for Violin, Bass Viol and Organ (Viola da Gamba Society No. IV/1):
• 21 Jenkins: Fantasia-Suite for Violin, Bass Viol and Organ (Viola da Gamba Society No. IV/1): 1. Fantasia 02:12
• 22 Jenkins: Fantasia-Suite for Violin, Bass Viol and Organ (Viola da Gamba Society No. IV/1): 2. Air 03:33
• 23 Jenkins: Fantasia-Suite for Violin, Bass Viol and Organ (Viola da Gamba Society No. IV/1): 3. Corant 04:18
• Jacob van Eyck (1590 - 1657):
• 24 Eyck: Divisions on "Daphne" (Arr. Julia Fredersdorff and Laura Vaughan) 05:26
• Christopher Simpson: The Little Consort, for Treble, Lyra Viol and Continuo: Suite No. 1:
• 25 Simpson: The Little Consort, for Treble, Lyra Viol and Continuo: Suite No. 1: 1. Pavan 04:26
• 26 Simpson: The Little Consort, for Treble, Lyra Viol and Continuo: Suite No. 1: 2. Corant 02:23
• John Dowland (1563 - 1626):
• 27 Dowland: Can She Excuse My Wrongs 03:58
• Total Runtime 01:28:33

Info for Royal Consorts

Delve into the world of 17th-century England, with music written for kings and nobles during the tumult of the Civil War, and tunes which reverberated in town houses and taverns throughout the country.

In their new album for ABC Classics, Australian Baroque trio Latitude 37, performing on instruments that the composers themselves would have known, bring to life the music of the 17th-century English Civil War – including the world-premiere recording of a lost work. The album also features a selection of guest artists hand-picked from Australia’s finest musicians.

At the heart of the album stands music by composers intimately involved with the royal court, at a time when its very existence was challenged like never before. William Lawes (1602–1645), who composed for King Charles I for most of his life, was dubbed ‘Father of music’ by the king after he was killed whilst fighting for the royalist cause. Henry Purcell (1659–1695) – the finest English composer of his generation, with a number of positions at court – is represented here by the exquisitely beautiful lament ‘Let Me Weep’, sung by rising star soprano Alexandra Oomens, and a masterful instrumental Fantasia.

Christopher Gibbons(1615–1676), though largely forgotten today, played a significant role in the rebirth of English music after the Civil War, as organist of the Chapel Royal. Latitude 37 here presents the world-premiere recording of his imaginative Fantasia-Suite No. 2, discovered in a manuscript in the collection of Christ Church College, Oxford. Further musical innovators from the time are represented by John Jenkins (1592–1578), court musician to Charles I and II, and the royalist soldier and viola da gamba virtuosoChristopher Simpson (1602–1669).

The burgeoning popularity of ballads and tunes, bolstered by the advent of music printing, brought music out of the royal court and into homes and taverns up and down the country. ARIA Award-winning recorder player Genevieve Lacey joins the trio for the catchy tunes Woodycock, Daphne and Paul’s Steeple, all ‘divisions’ – simple melodies with imaginative variations both from the time and improvised by the performers.

Echoes of a more tranquil time are heard in dance tunes by 16th-century composer William Byrd (1543–1623), and Greensleeves – perhaps the most famous piece of music ever to be associated with royalty, even if it is now known to be a traditional folk tune, rather than the creation of Henry VIII!

Latitude 37:
Julia Fredersdorff, baroque violin
Laura Vaughan, viola da gamba
Donald Nicolson, harpsichord and chamber organ
Guest artists:
Alexandra Oomens, soprano
Genevieve Lacey, recorders
Lucinda Moon, baroque violin
Laura Moore, viola da gamba
Hannah Lane, harp
Nick Pollock, cittern
Guy du Blêt, percussion

Latitude 37
is an exciting baroque trio whose members were drawn together by their passion for historically informed performance of 17th and 18th century music. The distinctive combination of baroque violin, viola da gamba and harpsichord opens up a wealth of repertoire that is rarely explored by other Australian ensembles. Over the past ten years they have become firm favourites on the Australasian early music scene. Their critically acclaimed performances are characterised by the marriage of scholarship and keen sense of historical style with virtuosity, creative flair and a warm rapport with audiences.

Since its Melbourne debut in 2008, the ensemble has maintained an active presence on the Australasian early music scene, bringing baroque music to vivid life with an impressive range of programmes from traditional or lesser known baroque repertoire or performances blending medieval and classical Turkish repertoire, to cutting-edge performances of contemporary music written for baroque instruments. Two of their three albums released with ABC Classics have received ARIA nominations and they have recently released a special edition vinyl album ‘X’ to celebrate their 10th anniversary.

This album contains no booklet.